The Hidden Dusk:Reborn
by I Wrote Stuff
Summary: As Ruby enjoyed her life in Beacon, she just couldn't help but feel like the hooded figure that recently joined was once important in her life. Little did she know, the man was once important. Before he fought the Order. The Dusk is reborn, find it, before it disappears.
1. Chapter 1

Reworked Chapter 1: A Different Beginning

You see, this is a story. An ordinary story, in fact. A story with action, comedy, drama, and a little bit of romance. A story about a boy, no older than 15, from an island called Patch. A story about a hero with great power. But sometimes, great power comes with great consequence. And sometimes, these consequences stay…

Forever.

Ruby woke up to what seemed like the smell of… cookies? Quickly sitting up from her bed, she soon regretted it as she somehow fell of the edge of the bed and landed on her head. After what felt like ages, Ruby recovered from her 'concussion' and looked around to see everyone doing their daily routines. Weiss was in the shower, Yang was brushing her hair in front of a mirror and Blake was, surprisingly, not reading one of her 'child-friendly' books, but instead reading from what looked like a leather book. It's was old and worn, but it still looked like something you would sell at a shop. "Hey Blakeee..." Ruby said, using her semblance to get onto Blake's bed. Seeing Ruby suddenly appear on her bed, she quickly closed the book.

"Whatca reading?" Ruby asked. Expecting an answer, Ruby was shocked to see Blake suddenly disappear, a shade from her own semblance left on the bed. "B... Blake?" Ruby said as she started to feel sad.

"Hey, don't worry about it Sis, Blake just woke up. Maybe she just wanted some peace and quiet." Ruby turned around to see her sister, brush in hand with a sandwich in the other. Ruby looked at her with small tears forming around her eyes.

"Here. I got cookies." Ruby's sad demeanour instantly changed when the scent of cookies invaded her nose. Grabbing them, she was quick to devour them, instantly emptying the plate the cookies were on.

"Did you hear about the new student coming?" Yang asked Ruby. "I heard that he was taught at Signal too. He's your age as well Ruby." Ruby's eyes were filled with curiosity as she listened to her sister.

"Do you know where he lived?" Ruby asked as she searched her mind, trying to find anyone that would be strong enough to go to Beacon at her age. One person came to mind but…

"Ruby. Ruby?"

"Huh?" Ruby was snapped out of her daze by Yang's very subtle poke.

"You were thinking about him again, weren't you?" Yang asked, clearly worried.

"Yea…" Ruby trailed off as memories started to come back to her. Her father, her mother, she and Yang playing, her first day at Signal, her first friend, her first crush, her first kiss… and then the bad memories came along. Her first fight, her mother's death, her sister's desperate eyes, her first witnessed death and then…

"Ruby. We're going to be late for class if you don't hurry up." Ruby looked up to see Yang tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for Ruby.

"Ahh... Yea, let's go." Ruby said, putting on her best impression of a happy face. On their way to class, Ruby's mind started to wander off, to that moment. The moment that changed her life. The moment that Dusk died.

 _Flashback_

 _Ruby laughed as she listened to Dusk's rather horrendous jokes. "Two men walked into a bar. Ouch." Ruby erupted into a fit of giggles after hearing that joke. After a while of unstoppable giggles, she decided to lean on Dusk's shoulders._

" _Uhh, Ruby?" Dusk asked. If she was to look at him, she would've seen that his face was deep red, either from embarrassment or confusion._

" _Yea?" Ruby replied, too content with her position to look up at him._

" _What… exactly are you doing" Ruby sighed internally. Dusk was always like this. He was caring, kind, but he was never able to pick up the hints that she gave him. She even believed that if she threw herself at him, he wouldn't notice._

" _Leaning on you." Ruby said after a short pause in their conversation._

" _Why?"_

" _Because."_

" _Because?"_

" _Just cause." Ruby decided to end the conversation there and closed her eyes. Before he fell into the deep pit of sleep, she heard Dusk sigh to himself and whisper something that would soon be the last thing she would hear from him._

" _I'm sorry Ruby. I love you…"_

 _Ruby snapped her eyes open when she heard the sound of an explosion. Looking at the scene in front of her, she saw a hooded figure, fighting what seemed like a black blur. Looking around, she noticed that Dusk was nowhere to be seen. Deciding that finding Dusk was more important that this fight, she was surprised when a pair of arms encircled themselves around her and keep her down._

" _Ruby, stay here." Ruby's eyes widened when she saw Yang, bloody and bruised, cuts covering her whole body._

" _Yang! What happened to you!" Ruby yelled. Instead of reassuring her like Ruby expected her to, she was surprised to see her shed a tear and look behind her._

" _It's not me you should be worried about. It's him." Ruby's eyes widened as she put two and two together. With Dusk gone, Yang beaten, and the assailant fighting a black blur, she realised who was fighting the person that was able to injure Yang so badly._

 _Dusk was fighting them. And from the looks of things, he's losing the battle. As the hooded figure disengaged, she was able to see the conditions of both fighters. The figure was relatively alright, with a few cuts in his robe and the only fatal injury was a cut to his chin, only a few centimetres from slitting his throat. Dusk, on the other hand, was in a worse condition. He had cuts everywhere, ranging from his face to his legs. He was bleeding from his left arm, and from the looks of it, he lost it as well. His posture was very ragged, the heaving of his chest indicated that it took a lot of effort to breath. After a few moments of intense staring, the two charged each other. Watching them, Ruby realised what was going on. They were both going for the kill._

 _As the hooded figure rushed Dusk, Ruby noticed a shadow forming behind the man. As Dusk ran towards the figure with his weapon drawn, she was shocked to see the man thrust his dagger forward, the blade stabbing Dusk through the heart. Ruby scream at the sight in front of her, the blood spurting of Dusk's back. As Dusk dropped dead, Ruby was too shocked to move when the hooded figure moved towards her. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Yang stand up and run towards the figure before being simply swatted away by the man. As Yang crashed into a tree, Ruby stared at the remains of what was once her friend, her brother, her first love._

"…" _The man said nothing as he lifted his dagger, ready to put an end to Ruby's life. She heard Yang yell as the man brought his weapon down. She closed her eyes, ready to accept her fate, until she heard metal clash against metal. Opening her eyes, Ruby stared in disbelief at the sight in front of her. Dusk, miraculously, stood in front of her, one hand holding the assailant's dagger and the other holding his weapon, drops of blood on the tip of it. As the man dropped dead, Dusk fell backwards, landing next to Ruby. Ruby instantly snapped into action and cradled Dusk, whispering to him that everything would be alright._

" _Ruby…" Dusk said, his voice harsh and raspy._

" _Yes?" Ruby replied, her eyes filled to the brim with unshed tears._

" _Promise me one thing…"_

" _Yea?"_

" _Live. For me." Dusk reached into his pocket and gave her a pendant, a silver rose on it. As soon as Ruby took the gift, Dusk dropped dead, the light in his black, shining eyes leaving. As Ruby started to shed her tears, for once in her life, she didn't appreciate Yang's comforting hug,_

 _Flashback End_

"Ruby. Ruby" Ruby jumped in shock as she was tapped on the shoulder. Hard. "Ouch, what was that for?" Ruby whined. Yang rolled her eyes in response and walked into class, Ruby following shortly after. As she tuned out of Professor Port's lectures, as she usually does, Ruby's mind wandered off once again, but this time she thought of irrelevant things such as cookies and her next classes.

In the forest of Forever Fall, near Beacon, stood a hooded figure. The figure looked like a teen, around the age of 15. His figure was covered by the shadows created by the trees, unknowingly giving him an advantage in battle. Hearing a rustling in the bushes, the boy brought his left arm out of the cape, revealing a metal arm, clearly homemade, although it looked like it had a touch of a professional. Turning around, he counted five Beowolves surrounding him, ready to pounce. As they circled him, the figure brought out his right arm, bringing his weapon with it. His weapon was a curved blade, although it looked like a crescent moon (Think of Diana's weapon from League of Legends). After this display of power, the Beowolves growled, as if they were challenging him. After a short hiatus, the figure leaned back… and disappeared into the shadows. The Beowolves, who were once aggressive, were now confused, their show of power stopped as they tried to find their single opponent. Hearing a whistle in the air, one unlucky Beowolf turned around, only to be met by a blade, easily decapitating it. The remaining four sniffed the air, trying to locate the scent of their evasive opponent. Another whistle and another Beowolf dropped, his body split in half. The remaining three tried to flee the battle, although two were easily killed. The last remaining Beowolf was able to save his head, for the cost of his hand, that is. As the Beowolf howled in pain, the remains of its hand hit the man on the head, taking his hood off.

Staring at the Beowolf, the man was able to see the fear in its eyes. He scoffed as he swung his blade in a diagonal motion, killing the Grimm in an instant. "To think that monsters like these actually feel fear…" The man mumbled to himself. Walking away from the scene, the man put his hood back on, his black, shining eyes the only visible through the darkness his hood created. As he walked through the surprisingly large forest, he didn't expect to be greeted by an old looking man. Wearing a black suit and dark green pants, the man felt like this new-comer had power. Authority.

"Do you know where you are, young man?" The older man asked, his cane lightly tapping against the tree next to him.

"Not in the slightest sir." The teen replied, his body leaning against the tree next to him.

"Well, right now, you are in the forest of Forever Fall, one of the most dangerous places to be in right now." The man replied, unknowingly taking up a slightly relaxed battle stance.

"Oh, is that so? What, you think I won't be able to take care of myself?"

"No, no. I believe you are more than capable of doing so. It really depends who your opponent is, Dusk." The teen, now known as Dusk, was grinning slightly, amused by the sudden turn of events.

"I know who you are, Ozpin," Dusk started, "What do you want?"

"You already know what I want. I believe I asked you the same question a couple of years back. After your encounter with-"

"I'll make a deal with you, Ozpin." Dusk said, quickly interrupting Ozpin. "If I win, I get to not go to this school of yours."

"But if I win?" Ozpin asked, his normally stoic face showing a hint of excitement.

"Well… I'll go to your school. Teams and everything." Dusk replied, slowly getting himself upright for the incoming event.

Ozpin smiled as he held his cane in a more offensive position, while Dusk got into a stance, his blade in his right hand, ready to strike at any time.

"Well then, let's start, shall we."

Ruby yawned as she walked out of combat class. Looking around, she noticed Professor Ozpin walking around the school, a slight limp in his leg, but smiling nonetheless. "Hey Yang?" Ruby called out.

"Yea sis?" Yang replied, confused as to what her sister was staring at.

"Why does Professor Ozpin seem so… Happy?" Ruby asked, cringing to herself as Ozpin did a little leprechaun hop.

"I don't know sis. Let's just hope it stops us from getting any more homework." Ruby let out a giggle at that one. As the two teams, RWBY and JNPR walked to the cafeteria, they were interrupted by their scroll vibrating.

"Huh. What could this be?" Weiss asked aloud, making everybody think the same. The message said one thing only. ' _A special meeting is being called in the auditorium right now. Student attendance in mandatory.'_ After seeing that it was from Ozpin, the two teams rushed towards the auditorium, hoping to get good seats. As they arrived there, they saw four people on the stage, accompanied by none other than Ozpin himself. While the others were staring at the guy with the two pistols, Ruby's attention as diverted to the hooded figure. For some reason, Ruby felt like that person was very important in her life once. As the other students began to fill the auditorium, Ruby knew that this was going to be special.

 **I am back, my brethren. I'm sorry about the short hiatus in the original story. Like I said earlier, I found that the one I was writing now had no base, no good plot to write from. So I took a short while to think and rewrite the whole plot. I was also able to come up with a new story too, so you can wait for that. With chapter uploads, I'm hoping that I can upload a chapter once a week for both my stories (This reworked one and the new one). So for now, I'll leave you with this for now. Please tell me how I went, criticism is appreciated. Thx Bby.**

 **OMG, It's Jason Bourne.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys. I'm back with another chapter for this amazing story. I received some very helpful reviews, especially from one man himself (Although I'm not sure if he wants to be mentioned or not). Anyways, I hope that you enjoy this chapter, and I hope for the best.**

-Linebreak-

Chapter 2- Individual Evaluation

"Now, you're all wonder why you are here, yes?" Ozpin started. A collective nod from the students in the auditorium was all he needed as confirmation. "And you're all wondering who the four young men beside me are, are you not?" Again, more nods. "Well, these people here are your new classmates."

Silence. That was all that was heard in enclosed area. After a short while, Ozpin sighed to himself 'Sometimes, I think these people are emotionless.' Ozpin thought to himself.

"Now, before you say that this is unfair, I have something to say. These young, bright students have personally proven to me that they are more than capable to handle the courses thrown at them by this very school. However," Ozpin's eyes scanned through the crowed, meeting the eyes of each and every student, somehow. "I can tell that some of you need more proof." A collective, but slightly hesitant nod from a few students, especially one Weiss Schnee, made Ozpin chuckle to himself. "As a result of this, I have decided to put these four men into individual evaluation."

Now, Ozpin though that the mass in front of him would keep quiet, just like earlier, but now is not before. An excited cheer came from each and every one of the students, and from the look on their faces, they knew exactly what this 'evaluation' was. Ozpin grinned slightly, making sure no one could read his expression. 'Dusk would be… shocked, to put it simply.' Ozpin thought. Silencing the crowd in front of him, Ozpin opened his mouth and confirmed why exactly the students were very willing of this.

"These four men will individually spar with a team of my choosing."

-Linebreak-

Now, Ruby Rose was very content with weapons. But fighting with them…

"Oh My Gosh, Yang! We're going to be fighting someone!" Soon after the meeting was dismissed, Team RWBY went back to their dorms, but not before being sent a message on their scrolls, telling them that they were designated to fight one of the four mysterious men. Each of them had… Varying expressions on them.

"Yeah Ruby. Let's show them exactly who the Xiao Long sisters are!" Yang exclaimed, making a show by pumping her gauntlets, cocking them in a display of power.

"Don't you mean the Rose sisters?" Ruby asked, a slight tinge of coldness in her voice. As the two siblings engaged in a battle that will go down the ages, Blake and Weiss were having a conversation in the background.

"Who do you think we'll be fighting, Blake?" Weiss asked, slowly fingering Mytenaster's handle.

"I don't know. Although I hope we're taking on the hooded guy. He seemed interesting." Blake replied, her face still buried in the 'mature' book that she so dearly loved. The conversation didn't last long as the two fell into a comfortable silence. Well, as silent as you can get with Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose on your team.

"Well, I think Ruby Xiao Long sounds fine, thank you very much." Yang said, making the much annoyed Ruby even more annoyed. But before she could respond, someone knocked on the door. Stopping all activity in the room, Weiss stood up and reached for the handle. Slowly opening the door, Weiss looked out the door…

And was greeted with the sight of one Jaune Arc, holding something behind his back. "H-Hey Weiss." Jaune greeted, a nervous smile on her face. Weiss looked annoyed, motioning to shut the door when Jaune stepped forward and stopped her.

"I need to talk to Blake." Weiss was speechless. For once, Jaune Arc, the flimsy, clumsy dork of a man didn't want to hit on her? Taking a step back, Weiss for once didn't complain as she was shoved back by Blake, who was now very interested in the conversation.

"What do you need, Jaune?" Blake asked, voicing her question carefully while trying not to give her uncertainty away.

"I need to talk to you. Alone." And with that, Jaune dragged Blake out of their dorm, but not before forcefully shutting the door.

"Well. That was a thing." Yang remarked, shrinking slightly at the withering glares sent by the other two members of team RWBY.

-Linebreak-

"Are you serious, Ozpin?" The man next to Dusk exclaimed, seriously pissed at the sudden turn of events. He wore a white sweatshirt, with black stripes running down the sides. He had black pants that had interesting stitch patterns on them, although no one seemed to point it out. His plain black shoes didn't really fit his scheme, but his weapons fixed that. His dual guns, holstered at the side of his hips, were white in colour, although if one were to look closely, they would see the orange glow that the tips on the guns gave off. 'Probably fire dust' Dusk thought to himself.

"Yes, do I look like I'm joking, Keler?" Ozpin replied. The man, now known as Keler, huffed as he turned away from the Headmaster.

"With all due respect sir, this does seem a little uncalled for." Dusk, looking to his right, saw a tall man, with a passive look on his face. He was wearing what looked like a vest, although it's purpose was unclear to Dusk. He had grey pants, black sleeves that you could see from his shoulders, white shoes that actually complimented his look. But, his weapon was unseen, and Dusk it was for a good reason. Mainly not to blow his surroundings up accidentally.

"Actually, Akia, this is what I do to every student that is a late arrival to Beacon." Ozpin said, his facial expression not changing from the poker face he usually showed. Akia, the tall man, was suddenly very passive as he bowed his head and took a step back, clearly showing the respect that he had for the old man. Looking towards the last guy, Dusk noticed that his attire was one that looked like a… Samurai? He wore a blue shirt, seemingly cut as it only covered the right half of his body. He had a metal gauntlet, strapped to his body, that covered the whole of his left arm. He wore baggy, blue pants, with blue sock-shoes that kept the thing from tripping him over. Overall, he looked like a Samurai, and a trained one at that. His weapon, a katana, looked like it was mixed with a shotgun. The sheath made it look like it was, the handle and the connector that held the sword and sheath together finishing the look.

Ozpin turned to this rather interesting fellow, and seeing that he had nothing to say, slightly grinned to himself. 'That grin of his is starting to get on my nerves.' The four thought with perfect synchronisation.

"Now that that's out of the way, we can discuss how this is going to work." Ozpin started. The four people took a seat somewhere, knowing that this will be a long explanation. "So, as you know, each one of you will be fighting a team of my choice." Ozpin waited for them to nod before he continued. "Each team at our school is made up of four students, each one skilled in their own right. After the individual battles, I will put you guys into partners who will have to fight two other people in their designated team, which I will again, choose. After that, I will see how you work as a team against a team of you choosing, this time." After seeing each of them nod, the Headmaster then explained which team they were up against, and when this will happen. Fortunately, or unfortunately, for Dusk, his battle was set to be in three hours. Against team RWBY. So while they were waiting, the four boys decided to hang out for a while.

"So, how is everyone?" The one known as Keler started, only to receive chuckles from everyone in the group.

"Well, if no one is going to answer, I'm going to guess that we're fine?" Again, chuckles from the group.

"Fine then," Keler said, before coming up with a 'bright idea'. "How about we tell each other our names? I'll start, seeing as everyone in this group is socially inadequate." This time, he received glares from the other three.

"Heh. My name is Keler, the best dual pistol wielder in the entire world!" Keler exclaimed. Loudly, mind you.

"Ok then…" Someone said slowly, as if he thought that the man in front of him would explode if he was any louder. Who could blame him though? "My name is Akia, and I wield a cannon." Proving his statement, he reached into his vest and pulled out a massive cannon. Staring at it slack-jawed, Akia only grinned sheepishly as he put the cannon back in his vest, somehow able to fit the whole thing in. Looking at the last guy, Dusk expected him to be silent, only for him to see a glint in his eye.

"Well, my name is Rio." Unsurprisingly, no one asked to look at his weapon, nor did he motion to show it, as they expectantly looked at Dusk for an introduction.

Dusk smiled awkwardly. He was about to say his name before one thing crossed his mind.

' _Ruby's here, isn't she?'_ Pausing for a while, Dusk was about to throw himself under the bus, but then he remembered something. ' _Holy crap, I've still got the daggers from the guy I was fighting… What if I…'_

"Hi. My name is Ekko, and I fight with two daggers." Before any of them could respond, an alarm rang on 'Ekko's' scroll, signifying that his battle was coming. Walking towards the arena, Dusk could only think of the impending doom that was to come. Oh, and he needed to let Ozpin know about the name change. And get 'his' daggers from… somewhere.

-Linebreak-

As team RWBY made their way towards the arena, Yang could only wonder what Jaune wanted with her partner. After their 'innocent' conversation, Blake came back to their dorm, shaken up for some reason. When they asked her about it, her response was 'Nothing happened'. And that made Yang worried. If Blake couldn't fight this battle, then nothing would come out of this.

"YANG!" Yang was shaken out of her stupor by a harsh slap, sending her back a couple of metres.

"What was that for?" Yang asked, her eyes having a slight red tint to them.

"Well, we were calling you for the past five minutes…" Weiss explained, trailing off as Yang got what they meant.

"Oh…" Yang said, confused as to how long she was worrying about her friend. "Anyways, let's kick some butt!" Yang exclaimed, her emotions doing a complete 180. There was no point in worrying about her friend if they could fight it out… Right?

"Yeah!" Ruby said, dragging the whole team into the arena. Unsurprisingly, the entirety of the first-year students was there, eager to watch the battle. As Yang's eyes scanned the crowd, she was able to find team JNPR and found that Jaune was acting a little strange as well. Yang's eyes narrowed. ' _I might have to uncover this… But after the battle.'_ Yang pumped her fists, efficiently focusing her attention to the battle that is about to happen.

"Yang, look at the guy." Yang heard Ruby say quietly, as if she was trying to talk only to her. As she looked towards where her sister was looking, she was able to see the hooded man talking to Ozpin. His cape slightly moving in the wind, Yang was able to catch a glimpse of metal where his left arm should be, but she blamed that as her eyes trying to trick her. Looking closer at him, she was barely able to see his weapons, a pair of daggers. She only saw the grey handle and some of the intricate designs on the blade before he turned to face them, his hood hiding his features. As he jumped down onto the arena, Yang could hear the crowd roar in approval before Ozpin silenced them.

"As you know, this is the first of four battles that will be held throughout the week." Before anyone could react though, Ozpin continued. "These battles are used to see how our new entries handle combat, seeing as they have already completed the written part. Now, seeing as you are all excited," A massive roar was heard as the crowd heard those words. "I present to you the first evaluation. Team RWBY vs Ekko Helix!" A massive cheer as heard as the bell that signified the start of the battle was rung.

On the field though, things were a little bit different.

" _Ozpin you little_ -" Dusk thought before he was interrupted by a scythe slash towards his face. Jumping back, Dusk was able to see the expression on his attacker's face. Anger. Looking towards her teammates, he was able to see the white and black clothed one's looking towards her in confusion, while the yellow themed one walked next to the red one, beckoning her team to follow. As they rushed towards him, Dusk only had one thing going through his mind.

' _It's nice to be able to battle you again. Ruby. Yang."_

-Linebreak-

 **Anddddd there it is. Now, this is just my version of introducing the other characters, but I started with Dusk's battle because I had a good plan in mind for this. So, this battle will spread out to the next chapter, but I promise that the other battle will not be as long. Unless I need it for 'character development' Hehehehe.**


	3. Chapter 3

Dusk groaned as he got up from the ground. Ever since the battle started, Dusk was assaulted by various attacks, some of them more complicated than others. Dusk knew he was beat. He hasn't landed a hit on any of them, although they've probably landed more than one-hundred on him. Being shaken out of his stupor by a rapier in his face, Dusk was once again sent back a few metres. Now having some distance between the four girls, he took the time to pull out his weapons. Reaching for their sheath, Dusk pulled out the blades. Both of them had a black handle, although each blade had different designs etched onto them. Spinning the blades in his hands, Dusk barely composed himself as he blocked a stab from the white themed girl. Pushing her back, Dusk knew he made a mistake as he let her regroup with her team.

"Freezer Burn!" Dusk heard. Looking at the two rushing towards him, Dusk readied himself for a devastating combo. As he tensed up, Dusk was surprised to see the two run past him and-

Oh. They made a smoke screen.

As Dusk was stuck in the smoke, he could hear the crowd quieten down as they waited for the next move.

"Ladybug!" Knowing that this would be the real attack, Dusk looked around, trying to find any sign that would indicate their next move. What he wasn't counting on were two blurs, hitting from both sides, sending him towards the ground. As he stood back up, he was met with the same fate as before. Knowing that his sight would hinder him in this situation, Dusk closed his eyes, counting on his hearing to do the work for him. Listening for what felt like an eternity, Dusk waited for their next attack.

' _There!'_ Dusk brought up his blades just in time to block the two blades that were coming his way. Opening his eyes, he saw that his two assailants didn't expect him to block the attack. Jumping up, Dusk spun and threw his blades to their location, frowning as they hit nothing but air. Landing on the ground, Dusk sighed in relief as the smoke finally cleared. Looking at his aura bar, Dusk groaned as he saw the clear advantage they had over him. While his aura was at below halfway, all four girl had full aura bars. Dusk, knowing that he was going to lose, decided to just go all in. After all…

' _There's nothing to lose… right?'_

-Linebreak-

Ruby eyed the man in front of her as he took on a more aggressive stance. One hand held the blade in a reverse grip, while the other held it in a normal grip. "Guys, I think he might be attacking now." Seeing the girls agree with her, Ruby waited for his next move. Seeing him tense up, Ruby called for her team to be ready. As her opponent leaned forward, Ruby was prepared to block his strike only to see him… disappear?

Looking at her team, she could see that they were as confused as she was. As she looked around, she was surprised to see that her field of vision suddenly changed from the arena to the ground. Realising what happened, Ruby quickly got up and looked around and saw the hooded man, ' _Ekko, I think?',_ standing behind them while twirling his daggers. As her team composed themselves once more, Ekko ran towards them, taking a direct approach this time.

"Checkmate!" Hearing this, Weiss nodded as she ran towards their opponent, rapier in hand. Meeting the man, Ruby was able to see the battle between the two. Weiss was using Mytenaster to jab and swing at him, while he was using his blades in a more… Intriguing way.

Throwing one of his blades at her, Weiss deflected the dagger up. Looking back to his original position, Ruby saw that he wasn't there. Seeing a sudden movement above Weiss, she could barely see his heel kick the deflected blade, scoring a direct hit on the heiress. Weiss stumbled back, clearly not expecting the attack. As Ekko landed, he ran towards Weiss, picking up his blade and trying a dual slash, again hitting her straight in the chest, making her tumble a few metres back. Quickly recovering, Weiss was able to lunge towards her opponent, sending them back into a heated battle. After a while, Weiss leaped back using her semblance, meeting up with Blake mid-jump. As the two seemingly slashed in the air, she saw that the power slash hit their opponent. As dust filled the air, Team RWBY stood still, waiting to see if the hit took him down. Noticing a sudden shift in the dust cloud, Ruby was barely able to defend herself as a pair of twin daggers hit her with the force of a train, sending her flying back. Hitting the ground, Ruby recovered to see that the hit took away HALF her aura.

' _What was that?'_ Ruby thought, standing back up only to get send down by a flying Yang. Quickly recovering, she rushed her opponent and engaged. While Ruby swung with her scythe, she saw that Ekko was dancing through her slashes, counter-attacking whenever he got the chance. Ruby, being the girl she was, didn't back down, delivering more strikes and pushing him back towards the edge of the arena. Ruby, seeing that they were at her destination, hatched a plan that would've worked, if she accounted for one thing. How fast her opponent was. Spinning in a circle, Ruby swung with all her might, embedding the scythe's blade into the concrete wall of the arena. Not seeing the hooded guy, she assumed that she knocked him away, only for that idea to be crushed as she heard her sister yell out a warning. Turning around, Ruby saw a trail of rising dust, quickly headed her way. Trying to pull her weapon out, she realised that she swung too hard, and with all the momentum behind the swing, it would take at least ten minutes to take it out. She wasn't able to worry about that though, when a destructive force smashed into her side, sending her skidding across the ground the whole arena length. And it hurt like hell. Groaning, Ruby looked at her aura bar, only to see that the damn thing was nearly depleted. ' _Holy God…'_ Was the last thing Ruby thought before she was taken out of the arena.

-Linebreak-

Blake clenched her teeth as she saw her leader go down. Not paying attention, Blake was barely able to see the man before he hit Ruby, sending her across the length of the arena. Looking towards the aura metres, Blake's eyes widened as she saw that Ruby's bar had nearly been depleted, meaning that the hit was strong enough to smash through her aura like that. Looking back at the man, she saw him spin his dagger in his hand again, a habit he seemed to perform after every successful move of his. "W-What should we d-do?" Blake looked at Yang, only be shocked as she saw her actually shaking. Shaking, for Monty's sake.

"Don't worry Yang. We've got this." Blake placed her hand on her partner's shoulder, hoping to calm her down. After seeing Yang hype back up again, Blake explained her plan to her team.

"So, we know that he specialises in battling multiple melee opponents. Since our only long range advantage is gone, we need to make do with what we have." Blake jumped back as she dodged an incoming blade, only to see her opponent appear beside it and swing at her, scoring a direct hit on her chest. Meeting the ground, Blake recovered just in time to dodge another blade, one that had a purple tint on it. Regrouping with her team, Blake decided to explain the basics of her plan, knowing that the man would attack soon, "Yang," The mentioned person looked up to meet Blake in the eye. "I need you to distract him while we prepare for an attack. Weiss," Blake continued, not bothering to stop as she saw the man stop spinning his blades. "I need you to fill in for Ruby in our Ladybug combo. You can use your glyph's to keep up. Once we've got him in a prime position, we're going to attack from three directions, securing our victory." Blake couldn't see if they heard her as she sent back by a swift kick to her chest. Looking at her team, she saw the two jump back, dodging his attacks. Nodding at Yang, Blake readied herself as the plan began.

-Linebreak-

Rio frowned as he analysed the battle. ' _Ekko,'_ he thought to himself, _'was able to take out the fastest in the group, but also the one with the least combo potential in her fighting style._ _She was the only one in their group with range, from what I can see, which means that it should be a 1v3 melee fight. From what I've seen so far, Ekko is able to take on multiple opponents at once without much trouble, but with his low aura level he might not be able win this fight…'_

Rio watched as the yellow one rushed him, throwing a massive array of punches. Ekko, being the fighter that he was, was able to dodge, block and counter her attacks. Looking to the other two, he saw them nod and then rush towards Ekko, the white one being propelled by some sort of glyph appearing beneath her feet. As the blond disengaged, Ekko had no time to recover as the duo attacked him, forcing him into a 1 vs 2 situation. As the two dashed in and out, switching between each other, Rio realised that Ekko was focusing too much on his sides that he left above him open for an attack. Seeing the blonde jump above him, Rio knew that if they landed that it, it was over for him. Ekko palmed the black themed one and for a second, he thought he saw a purple mist come out of his palm. As the duo jumped back, glyphs began to surround Ekko. Trying to move, Rio saw that the glyphs stopped him from moving. As the two charged to attack, the yellow one started her descent, fist glowing in flames. As they met in the middle, a massive dust cloud was created, blocking the audiences field of vision.

Looking at the supervisor, Rio saw that she was trying to see through the cloud, but then decided to wait it out. As the dust cleared, the three girls were standing in the middle, out of breath from the last attack. Shifting his attention to the aura metres, he saw that the three girls were in the yellow zone, while Ekko's was an inch away from turning red. But that raises a question. Where the hell was he?

"Seeing as our individual is gone, that means that Team RWBY is the-" The blonde supervisor was cut off by two shadows, suddenly appearing around three girls. A glow, coming from what seemed like the black girl's chest, suddenly filled the arena. Everyone's attention was soon drawn to a laugh, one that seemed on echo through the whole arena. As the mark began to glow brighter, a black blur was seen, dashing towards the mark. As the blur materialised, Rio saw that it was Ekko, still alive with his hood on. Kicking the marked one in the chest, he sent the three back, into the middle of the triangle of shadows. Pulling out his blade, Ekko spun and hit one of the girls, his shadows mimicking the action. The yellow one punched the air, sending shotgun rounds to her opponent. Looking at Ekko, Rio was ready to say it was done until he switched with one of the shadows, the rounds completely missing their target. Seeing a slight movement, Rio saw that Ekko threw a dagger, his shadows again copying his actions. As they hit the girls, Rio noticed that their aura levels were at the same level as Ekko's.

' _One more move…'_ Rio thought. As the white themed one lunged for an attack, Ekko stepped to the side, dodging the attack and placing him in a good position for a counter. Taking the opportunity, he was able to take her out.

' _Two left…'_ The blonde rushed him, hoping to take him out with one hit. As she shot another round at him, Ekko ran towards her. Before the rounds hit him, however, he disappeared, a shadow replacing him. Confused, she was soon taken down by a swift kick to the head.

' _This is the last one… I wonder…'_

-Linebreak-

Dusk knew he was going to give soon. After taking the two others down, the only one left was the one he marked. Turning around, he saw that she was breathing heavily, signifying that the mark was going to activate soon. Running towards her, Dusk saw her surprised expression before it hardened. As she ran towards him, Dusk made a hand sign behind his back, a purple energy surrounding his hand. As soon as the met in the middle, Dusk lunged forward, hitting her slightly before teleporting behind her. Walking ahead, Dusk heard the sound of metal hitting metal. Dusk grinned, before abruptly hitting the ground. Looking at the aura metres, Dusk groaned as he saw that his aura was in the red, hers was as well. Sadly, her aura was one unit above him. One. Freaking. Unit.

' _At least it was a good fight… Why did I even use the mark anyway?'_

"Because Ekko's aura is deeper in the red than Blake's, Team RWBY is the winner!"

 **-Linebreak-**

 **Hey guys. Sorry about the horrendous fight scene, I'm not really good at that kind of stuff. Anyway, next chapter should be coming in a week OR the first chapter of my new 'idea'. Hope you enjoyed. Criticism is appreciated.**


	4. Author's Note (Apologies)

Hey guys,

I'm sorry about not being able to upload a chapter for quite a while. I was just loaded with a crap ton of assessment and some more... personal stuff.

I'll try and upload a new chapter in the coming days, but for now just hang tight my dudes.

Regards,

I Wrote Stuff


	5. Chapter 4

**HEY GUYSS. I'm back with another chapter of this amazing story.**

-Linebreak-

Blake's eyes widened when she heard the words that came out of Goodwitch's mouth. The battle was a short one, although one that caused their team a lot of pain. How they won against that monster of a man, she would never know. Speaking of which…

Looking to his position from the ground, she saw that he was… groaning? Holding in a chuckle, Blake tried to stand up, only to fall back to the ground in pain. "It hurts, right?" She looked up to see the man _'Ekko, I think it was'_ standing above her, his hood obscuring his facial expression. Realising that his hand was outstretched towards her, she reached out to grab it. Standing up, she was about to fall back down when a pair of arms wrapped around her. Looking at him, she saw that he was looking down. Where her chest was. With glowing eyes. Feeling a blush adorn her face, she quickly shadowed out of his grasp, her arms subconsciously wrapping around her chest. Looking at her, the hooded man seemed confused before realisation hit him. Scratching the back of his head, Blake swore that the inside of the hood turned red. A slip of his hand though, made his hood fall off. She was instantly greeted by two black eyes, shining with a light that she had only seen in Ruby's. His face was soft, although with some rough edges along them. A blush ran across his face, confirming her suspicions from earlier. With a sheepish look completing his look, Blake only thought of one thing…

' _He's cute though- wait what?'_ Her blush only strengthened. After a while of awkward staring, Ekko realised that his hood was off. Frantically looking around the area, he saw that no one was there. Sighing in relief, he looked towards Blake. "I'm sorry about that. It's just… I wear the hood for a reason And uh… I needed to take the mark off." She looked at him, genuinely surprised at the softness that his voice had.

"I-It's alright." Blake stared at him, finding herself trapped in the endless void that were his eyes, the blackness somehow giving her a sense of protection but also a sense of fear. As they stared for what felt like an eternity, Blake swore that his eyes started to spin, the blackness making it look like a black hole, seemingly dragging her into its grasp. While Blake was staring into them, Ekko was very, VERY, confused.

"Uh… H-Hi?" Blake shook her head as she realised what she had done. Turning around, Ekko walked towards the exit, but not before turning back and signalling her to come. As Blake caught up with him, there was one thing that stayed in her mind, even throughout their rather normal conversation.

' _Those eyes… He can't be… Can he?'_

-Linebreak-

"Ruby. What. Happened." After the battle, Ruby was instantly assaulted by a multitude of questions, most of them coming from Weiss.

"I, uh, I really don't know." Ruby, for the one millionth time that night, said that line. Seeing the heiress's face stay in its annoyed form, she opted to go to the only other sane person in the room. But being Team RWBY, they knew that a sane person in the team would be similar to Blake having a crush on Jaune.

"But he was there… And then he jumped… Running towards Blake?..." Were only a few of the things that came out of the brawler's mouth, her constant pacing putting Ruby on edge. With the ranting heiress and the pacing brawler, the reaper could only think how the situation could get worse. And life was not one to disappoint.

"Well, it was nice talking to you, Blake." A voice was heard from the other side of the door, instantly stopping any activities that were occurring at the time.

"Same. It was a pleasure, Ekko." The door opened, and the inhabitants were met with the sight of their black themed team mate, talking to the man with the hood on.

"Well, see you next time." As he turned to leave, he said one more thing before he got of her ear range. "Hope you don't lose that much the next time we fight, Kitty." Blake's eyes widened. As she closed the door behind her in a rush, she was surprised to see that the remainder of her team was there, their faces mere inches away from hers.

"Blake. What. Happened."

-Linebreak-

Keler sighed as her waited at the front of the arena. After their short meeting before Ekko's fight, they decided to exchange details, with him making sure that Rio didn't try to sneak away. They had also made a plan to go to Vale before his battle. Tapping his foot impatiently, he was soon greeted with the sight of Akia and Rio, although Ekko was nowhere to be found.

"Hey guys! Over here!" Keler yelled, his voice somehow reaching them throughout the mass. Making their way towards him, he could only frown at the sight, or lack of, their last member. "Where's Ekko at?" He asked them, a tinge of annoyance seeping it's way through.

"We saw him hanging out with the black haired one from the battle. I don't think he'll be here." Rio answered, not noticing the grin that his teammate sported.

"Ahh yes, young love is a thing, isn't it?" He asked no one in particular, his body seemingly floating on what felt looked like clouds.

"Insinuate something like that again, I'll break you into five pieces, alright?" A chill went down Keler's spine when he heard those word. Turning around, he saw his hooded friend, a sinister aura surrounding him. Gulping, he feebly nodded his head, hoping that the pressure would be gone soon. As soon as the aura was gone, he quickly went next to him, wrapping his arm around his shoulder.

"So… What's up?" Akia asked, a futile attempt to break the silence that surrounded them.

"…" He sweat dropped when he didn't get any responses, instead a deadpan stare from each of them. At least, he thinks Ekko has one, he couldn't tell because of the hood.

"Well… Let's go!" Keler yelled, dragging the other three into the Bullhead. "We've still got an hour until my battle, so why don't we prepare for the team battle. By BONDING!" The rest of them sighed. This wasn't going to end well, was it?

-Linebreak-

"And when he did the thing at the end. OHH THAT WAS SO COOL!" Jaune sighed as he listened to Nora's unending rambling about the previous battle. As soon as the battle ended, Nora wouldn't stop talking about the battle, especially the bit where the guy ' _Ekko, I think'_ did that trick with the Mark. Somehow, the way he fought gave him a sense of déjà vu, like he's seen it before. He only had one explanation for why, but thinking about that wouldn't be a good idea. Especially in their dorms. But, being the guy that he was, couldn't stop himself from thinking about it. His past. His regrets.

Because he was so caught up in his thoughts, Jaune didn't notice that Nora stopped talking and was looking at him with a curious expression. He also didn't notice how Pyrrha and Ren were looking at him, concern flooding their faces. Also, he didn't notice how Nora pulled out her weapon, or that Pyrrha and Ren were holding her back so that she didn't hit Jaune across the face. By the time Jaune was out of his trance, the room was trashed, with their clothes, homework and beds everywhere in the room.

"Uh… guys?" Jaune only sweatdropped when Pyrrha and Ren dropped to the floor, with Nora whistling innocently, although the massive hammer in her hands ruined that image. As soon as the two others recovered, they went straight into questioning Jaune.

"Jaune, are you alright?" Pyrrha question, her voice having the tone of a mother, something that Jaune had hated ever since the Cardin incident.

"Yes Pyrrha, I'm splendid. So can you _please_ stop?" Jaune replied, a tinge of irritation seeping into his voice. Pyrrha took a step back, slight hurt etched onto her face. Jaune sighed for what seemed like the one hundredth time that day. "Look, I'm sorry, it's just-"

"Just what Jaune?" Surprised at the sudden voice, team JNPR looked at their open door to see… Blake?

"B-Blake-"

"Jaune," Blake started, her voice softening when he dropped his head, "You said yourself that you wanted to change. So why are you still pushing others away?" The rest of team JNPR were looking at her in surprise, not expecting Jaune to open to Blake, of all people.

"Blake, i-it's not like-"

"Jaune, come here." And with that, Blake grabbed Jaune's wrist and pulled him out of the dorms, leaving behind a confused team JNPR.

"W-What just happened?" Pyrrha asked, genuine curiosity etched into her voice.

-Linebreak-

As Blake dragged Jaune to their 'spot', her mind kept wandering back to when Jaune had a talk to her before their battle.

 _-Flashback-_

 _Blake stumbled for what felt like the hundredth time as Jaune dragged her to… somewhere. "Jaune, where are we going?" Blake asked, leaning forward to take a glimpse of his face. And instantly stumbled backwards when she saw his expression._

' _W-What happened to him?' Blake thought to herself, wondering what could've caused that reaction. After a while, she realised that Jaune dragged her to a tree with a bench underneath. The view that it offered was spectacular to Blake. After all, being part of the White Fang didn't give her the privilege to see these kind of things._

 _Jaune sat down on the bench and patted the space next to him, motioning her to sit down. As Blake followed his instructions, her mind was racing with endless possibilities of what Jaune wanted._

" _Blake," Blake snapped to attention at the sound of her name, "You read the book, right?"_

 _Blake could only respond with a slight nod._

" _You saw what's in it?'_

" _What's it to you Jaune?" Blake answered, the irritation she was feeling seeping into her voice._

" _Blake, show us the book." Blake obliged, although her movements were slow, like she was expecting an attack to come out of nowhere. As Jaune took the book in his hands, Blake leaned closer to him to see what he was looking at._

" _See. Here." He pointed at the cover of the book, where in the corner was a small etching that spelt…_

" _Jaune Arc." Blake read aloud, realisation hitting her faster than Nora can eat her pancakes. "Wait, so you're saying that this book, this book with a lot of death-"_

" _Is mine. Yes Blake, this book was my journal, my way of keeping my sanity after… yea."_

 _Blake could only respond with a shocked expression. She couldn't believe that this journal, outlining a horrific siege of a village, was basically Jaune's life story. Huh. No wonder he didn't open up to anyone._

 _Blake, caught in her trance, nearly missed the sob that came out of Jaune's mouth. Looking up, Blake silently gasp as she saw Jaune, tears cascading down his face. She quickly pulled him into a hug, her grasp making Jaune sob even louder._

" _I just want to change, Blake. I just want to change…" Blake nearly shed a tear over those words._

 _-Flashback end-_

"B-Blake! W-What are we doing here?" Jaune asked, finally recovering from the shock that being dragged out of a room gave you.

"Jaune. You can't just keep pushing people away." Blake said as she sat down, patting the space next to her. As Jaune sat down, Blake thought of ways that she could approach this.

"Blake look. I know that I keep doing it, but give me time. It's going to be fine." Jaune said, fake confidence smearing his voice.

"Jaune, stop. You know it won't be." Blake looked over at Jaune to see his head bowed down.

"Yea, I really doubt it would be. Hehehe." Blake deadpanned at the fake laugh, although didn't mention it when she saw his tear-ridden face. "Blake, I-I just can't tell anyone of them. I feel like if I do, then I would have to explain the rest."

Blake put her arm around Jaune, his head resting on her shoulders.

"I can't just go up to Pyrrha and say 'Hey Pyrrha, my family was killed in a siege on our village and I've been hunting down those who did it.' Can I?" Blake nodded silently as she listened to his monologue, knowing that this would be the only time that he would be able to talk about it.

"They would try and help. And you know that they can't. They would die in an instant. Now, I'm not saying that they're not powerful, it's just that they aren't as strong as the people I'm fighting. I can't get your team either, they would die even faster." 

"I could help." Blake was surprised. She didn't expect her thoughts to manifest, nor did she expect them to be brought to light.

"Wait, what! B-Blake you'd die the-"

"They would die there. I, on the other hand, was part of the White Fang, which means t-"

"Huh, I didn't know that."

"-hat I know how to handle myself in situations like this."

"Blake, are you sure?" Jaune asked, not expecting this to happen.

"Yes Jaune, I'm sure. Now do we have a lead."

Before the two could start conversing, a new voice entered the clearing.

"You aren't thinking of fighting the Order, are you Mr Arc?

Both of them turned around to see Ozpin, coffee mug in hand as he regarded them with a blank stare.

"P-Professor Ozpin!" Jaune said, wiping the tears off his face. "What ever could you mean?"

Ozpin deadpanned at Jaune, before taking another sip from his coffee.

"Believe it or not Mr Arc," Ozpin started, "I know everything about my students. Contrary to popular belief, I look through my student's transcripts myself"

Jaune sweat dropped at that

"And if someone catches my attention, I try my best to find out as much as I can from their past."

Ozpin took a sip of his coffee, letting the information digest in the two hunters-in-training.

"Which means I know about Miss Nikos, Miss Belladonna and especially you, Mr Arc."

Jaune looked at Ozpin worriedly, hoping that he wouldn't give his special way of entering the school away.

"But," Ozpin continued, "I do not mind if you are to go against the Order. I only have one condition."

Jaune and Blake looked at each other for a second, a silent message passing from the two. Jaune spoke up, albeit carefully.

"Uhh, W-What is it Professor?"

"I need you to come to my office tomorrow. Right now, you're too weak to fight them. But if I train you," Ozpin said with a predatory glint in his eye, "Then we might be able to change that.

-Linebreak-

 **And there's another chapter. To clarify about my recent absence, I have no reason. I was just unable to deal with a loss of something very important to me. That is all.**

 **See You's next chapter.**


	6. Chapter 5

Dusk sighed as what would be Team DARK took the Bullhead back to Beacon. After 50 minutes of 'bonding', as Keler put it, they realised that they had to get back to Beacon in time for Keler's battle. So, after a while of running, jumping and somehow escaping the Vale police force, they ended up in the Bullhead with only two minutes left.

"Hey pilot!" The pilot turned around at the call. "Open the door! I'm going to be late for my battle!" The yell came from Keler, Dusk realised. The rest of his team looked at him, confused expressions on their faces. As the pilot opened the doors, Keler saluted to his team.

Before jumping out.

As Dusk looked over, he saw that they were directly above the arena where Keler's fight was meant to be. Chuckling slightly, Dusk shouted to his teammates.

"Hey guys," The remaining two looked at him, "Follow me." The two looked at each other, following as Dusk ran towards the door…

And jumped off.

The two soon followed, their momentum too powerful to stop.

"…" The pilot couldn't find the right words to say. Instead, he decided to close the door with a shake of his head.

"Students these days. Crazy as hell."

-Linebreak-

Jaune mumbled to himself as they waited for their opponent to appear. It's been a minute since the battle was called to be started, yet their opponent still hasn't shown up.

"Oh well," Jaune heard Glynda say before she spoke into the microphone. "Since the opponent of team JNPR is not here," Boo's were heard throughout the whole arena, "I unfortunately have to say that the battle is now o-"

"DON'T WAIT FOR US!" Jaune looked up to see four dots in the sky, each one approaching the ground at a rapid pace. "START THE BATTLE!" Jaune looked at Glynda to see her with her jaw dropped, before she quickly recomposed herself.

"Ok… I present to you, Team JNPR vs Keler Quicksilver." A roar of approval was heard as what Jaune assumed to be Keler drop into the stage, followed by his to-be teammates. Keler straightened himself as his friends jumped out of the arena.

"Let's dance." Keler said, grinning before pulling out his twin pistols and running forward. Jaune, recovering before anyone else, ran in front of Pyrrha and raised his shield just as he dashed forward, a bullet shooting from each gun. Jaune grunted as he blocked the bullets, finding that they were stronger than Jaune thought they were. Pyrrha nodded her thanks as she recovered, the other two coming to shortly after.

"Alright Pyrrha, I need you to block his attacks and keep him occupied. Ren, give her cover fire. Nora, if you see and opening, take it." Jaune said, satisfied when he saw his team nod. As Pyrrha went in with Ren firing behind her, Jaune stayed back with Nora following him.

"So, fearless leader, what are we doing here?" Nora said while dodging a stray bullet. Jaune knew that she already knew that answer. Despite what people thought, Nora was a very observant person. She just likes hearing the person say it out loud.

"I'm trying to analyse his fighting style. You're here so that we can end the fight early if needed." Jaune explained, focusing on the battle.

"Ok, fearless leader!" Nora shouted before jumping into the fray. Apparently, she saw an opening. As Jaune looked at the battle, he saw something peculiar. While Keler was shooting Pyrrha from a distance, he also dodged all attacks thrown at him. Even Ren's bullets. By dashing.

Jaune recognised that fighting style. He's only seen it used by one person, but he's seen it enough times to know what it was. It was the style his Dad used.

It was kiting. (Look at League of Legends kiting if you want to see how it works)

Jaune knew that his team couldn't catch him. Even if he was to stop, his movements would still be enough to dodge the attacks thrown at him. He knew that he could win against that style. But, he also knew that his team couldn't. So when Ren was sent flying towards him, he knew he needed to stop it. Besides…

' _You said you wanted to change, right?'_

-Linebreak-

Keler sighed as he dodged another swing of the ginger-haired girl's hammer. He knew that they couldn't win against him, with their fighting style. One had to stay behind and attack, one hits hard but can't stick to him and the last one can't dodge his bullets. So when the last guy jumped in with a shield bash followed up with a horizontal slash and a kick, he knew that he needed to up his game.

Dashing backwards, Keler dodged an overhead slash from the boy before lining up his left gun, pouring his aura into it. As a beam of light appeared in front of him, Keler released his aura, causing the beam to explode. Looking to his left, he saw that his opponent rolled out of the way, already preparing for a diagonal slash. Jumping backwards, he shot at him, causing him to raise his shield. Sensing a presence behind him, Keler jumped and successfully dodged a hammer strike, the impact creating a crater. Keler swore as he was it from behind by a shield, barely dodging the follow-up slash. As he turned around, Keler knew that he needed to fight defensively. Jumping around, he soon found out that the boy was able to stick to him, something that countered his fighting style. As Keler disengaged, he decided to ask him a question.

"What your name kid?" He asked, taking deep breaths while trying to look composed.

"Jaune. Jaune Arc." He replied, hunched over.

"Well, it's been a pleasure. Hope you don't disappoint." Keler said, sending a smile to Jaune before rushing him. He was happy. Jaune knew how to fight.

-Linebreak-

Jaune grunted as he blocked another barrage of bullets. His team, mainly Ren and Pyrrha, were exhausted which meant that they couldn't help. Nora, on the other hand, was content with watching the battle and taking care of Ren.

Jaune was snapped out of his musing as Keler jumped onto his shield, breaking his guard. Jaune was sent back as two bullets hit is chest, taking away a significant amount of aura. As Jaune readied himself for another confrontation, he racked his memories to see if he can remember anything his Dad told him about his fighting style.

' _Flashback'_

 _Jaune looked on in awe as his Father dodged every strike sent to him by his seven sisters. Rolling out of the way of a spear stab, his Father shot his crossbow and pinned one to the wall, sending her aura to the red. As he stepped on a shield and jumped away, he started lecturing his family._

" _To counter a fighting style such as mine," His father started, rolling behind his sister with the shield before shooting her three times, putting her out of the fight. "You have to consider a couple of things."_

" _One," He rolled away from a chain scythe and shot a heavy bolt from his bow, pushing her back and pinning her into the wall. "Know their killing range."_

Jaune jumped back a couple of metres before a shot flew past his head. Another flew past his feet, hitting the ground below him. Slashing a line in the ground, Jaune knew that his kill range, his accuracy range, ended here.

" _Two," He jumped into a sword slash, shooting at the exposed guard that it left. "Find a way to engage."_

Jaune stood still and waited as he fired round after round, each one missing its mark. And soon, Keler ran out of ammo.

" _And three," He rolled out of the way before turning invisible, leaving the remaining fighters in suspense. "Either stick to them." The remaining fighters were blown back by a flurry of bolts, coming from behind them. "Or take them by surprise."_

Jaune practically teleported to Keler and slashed at him. Keler, after dodging the strike, went to jump off Jaune's shield, but Jaune pulled his shield back, making Keler fall to the ground. Jaune instantly held his sword at his downed opponent.

"Because Mr Quicksilver is unable to battle, Team JNPR is the winner."

-Linebreak-

Blake sighed as she sat in her dorms and listened to her teammates talk about the fight that happened only five minutes ago.

"Wow, I never knew Vomit Boy had it in him." Yang said, impressed over the fight that just occurred.

"Yea, I can't believe he didn't use those techniques during combat class." Ruby said, eyes shining as she recalled the events that happened. As the two siblings continued to discuss about the battle, Blake noticed that Weiss was silent. Silently going to her bed, she took a seat next to her, trying not to attract the attention of the siblings.

"What's up, Weiss." Blake asked. Weiss looked up and Blake saw the sadness in her eyes, like an unwanted memory resurfaced.

"I'll… tell you later." Weiss responded. Blake was about to say something when her scroll rang. Picking it up, Blake saw that the message was from Ozpin.

 _Miss Belladonna and Mr Arc,_

 _Please report to my office._

 _Ozpin._

Blake stood up and headed for the door.

"Where're you going?" Ruby asked, her voice etched with curiosity.

"Ozpin summoned me to his office. I don't know why." Was Blake's prompt response before she turned around and continued walking. Shutting the door behind her, Blake started the walk to Ozpin's office. While she was walking, Blake decided to entertain her thoughts for a while. The first thing that came to mind was her first meeting with Jaune. Specifically, the reason that caused the meeting. The book.

' _Flashback'_

 _Blake walked out of the library after what seemed like an eternity. In between classes and her eventful life, she needed a chance to relax and read a book. For now, she's only covered one of those two things. Blake's run out of books._

 _Now, that doesn't seem like much of a problem. But, for a bookworm like Blake, it meant more that the world._

" _Oh crap crap crap." Blake mumbled to herself as she walked back to her dorm. Without her books, Blake knew that she would have to deal with her team. Especially Ruby and Yang. Specifically, Yang. So, when Blake found a book in front of Team JNPR's dorm, she all but lunged it and ran back to the library._

 _Slowing to a walk, Blake calmly walked to where she normally read her books. A small corner, dark but with a small lamp not enough for human eyes, but good for faunus eyes. As she sat down, Blake was wondering who in JNPR would've had this book. Blake automatically ruled out Nora and Pyrrha. So, that left Ren and Jaune. Ren, Blake thought, was what she saw to be the closest to her personality. Quiet, reserved, he would've been the first Blake thought of when she thought of the book. But then she thought about Jaune. At first glance, he seemed like a dork. Innocent and slightly cute. But, Blake knew there was more behind that façade. Whenever they would eat together, she would always see the scarred look in his eyes. The darkness that consumed them for a split second before it would disappear. But no, Blake didn't think it was him. He read comics anyway._

 _So when Blake opened the book, she wasn't expecting a journal. She also wasn't expecting it to be written by a 10-year-old. And she especially didn't expect the bloody gore that the book encompassed. Eyes widening, Blake was unable to take her eyes off the book, each word burning itself into her memories. Each scarily accurate detail, each description, she would never be able to forget. Quickly shutting the book, she stood up and walked to her dorm, her whole form shaking._

' _Gonna have to read the rest alone…'_

 _-Flashback end-_

Blake was brought out of her thoughts when she reached the elevator leading up to Ozpin's office. Walking inside, she pressed the button that lead to the top of the tower. Taking a step back, Blake was once again consumed by her thoughts.

' _Flashback'_

 _Blake opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling while she tried to get the energy to get up. Looking at the time, she saw that it was 6:00._

' _Perfect.'_

 _Sitting up, Blake reached under her pillow and pulled out the journal, her hands lingering at the cover. She stopped for a moment, afraid of what inside the book. After a while, she opened the book, going to the page she last read. As soon as her eyes adjusted to the dark, she started reading._

 _3_ _rd_ _December, Day 365_

 _It's been a year since the attack. I've been trying to survive out here, but it's hard. Between Grimm and travelling bandits, the only thing that's been keeping me alive was my training with Dad before…_

 _Anyway, I've been trying to train myself. Before the attack, I took my Family Sword Techniques book and went outside to train. It had a lot of things in it. Techniques, stances, but the thing that intrigued me the most were my Families Aura techniques. Specifically, the Sword Stances. Seven Deadly Steps, The Lotus Dance, Alpha Strike. There were many that I wanted to learn. So I went home to get my dad to teach me. By the time I got back, it was too late. There were Grimm everywhere, bodies littering the floor and hooded people flooding houses. By the time they got to where I was, I was gone. I ran, making sure I left no trail._

 _Thinking back, I realised that I might've left my family to die. My Mum, my Dad, my sisters…_

Wet stains covered the page.

 _Oh well. It's over, I've escaped. I've already learnt the Alpha Strike and the Lotus Dance, and I'm in the middle of learning the Deadly Steps. Now, I'm gonna have to cut this short, some Grimm are coming close to the camp site._

 _J.A._

 _Blake quickly shut the book when Ruby appeared in front of her._

" _Whatca reading?" She said. Still shaken from the contents of the book, she found the was only one solution for this. Quickly using her semblance to jump out the room, she found herself resting on the tree in front of their dorms. After a while, she jumped down, making her way back to her dorms to get changed for class._

' _Flashback end'_

Blake was interrupted by a 'ding', signalising the end of the elevator ride. Stepping into the office, she saw that Jaune was already there.Walking up to the desk, there was an awkward silence, the only sound being the ticking of the gears above.

"So…" Jaune started, his voice portraying his nervousness. "What's up?"

Blake resisted the urge to facepalm, while Ozpin had an amused expression on his face.

"Do not worry, Mr Arc." Ozpin said, standing up with is coffee mug in hand. "I assure you nothing is going to happen to you. Now, follow me if you will."

Ozpin walked towards the elevator, the tapping of his cane echoing throughout the room. Stepping into the elevator, Jaune and Blake follow, wondering where he was leading them. When the doors closed, Blake realised that Ozpin wasn't going to press a button.

"Umm Professor? Which floor are we headed to?" Blake asked.

"Oh. It seems I forgot." Ozpin said dryly. Placing his hand on the wall, Blake was surprised to see a blue light, scanning his hand.

"Good afternoon, Professor." Blake jumped back when she heard the elevator 'talk'. Although, it was nothing compared to the 'manly' screech that Jaune let out. "Where would you like to go?"

"Just the training grounds please." Ozpin said, slightly grinning. As the elevator made its way to wherever, Ozpin decided to answer some questions for them.

"That was a program I installed in the elevator. It was designed to hide the secret areas of the school. Now, since you two are going to be specially trained,"

Blake didn't like the sound of that

"you will need access to these facilities."

Two pads shot out from the walls, stopping in front of the two students.

"I want you to register your handprints so that the system can recognise you." Ozpin said. Blake slowly placed her hand on it, releasing a breath when she saw the blue light scan her hand. Looking at Jaune, she noticed that he was hesitant. Feeling eyes on him, Jaune looked over to Blake, the two making eye contact. She gave a small nod to Jaune, who gave a hesitant one back before placing his hand on the scanner, the blue light appearing once again. But neither of them noticed that.

All that Blake could see were Jaune's blue eyes. It didn't matter how hard Blake tried, she couldn't take her eyes off his. The bright blue orbs embracing her, drowning her in their depths.

Jaune, on the other hand, was entranced by the bright amber eyes that belonged to his friend. The fact that neither of them have looked away fascinated Jaune. Although, he couldn't care less about that right now. The orbs, to Jaune, looked like a fire, one that has died yet is still willing to burn brightly.

Ozpin was looking at the scene in amusement. He looked from one student to the other, before silently chuckling to himself. ' _I wonder…'_

Pulling out his scroll, he took a quick photo, the snap vibrating through the elevator. Blake and Jaune shook their heads, before looking at Ozpin with embarrassed expressions, a blush covering their faces.

"What?" Ozpin said, a rare grin on his face. "Think of it as… encouragement. If you can finish my challenges, then I will delete the photo. If not…" Ozpin trailed off. Before any of them could respond, a ding played through the speakers. As the doors opened, Ozpin stood to the side, letting the two go out before him.

"Welcome, my students, to the Advanced Beacon Training Facilities."

Jaune and Blake stared at the facility before them in awe. There was a massive arena in the middle, with machines surrounding the area. A control panel was next to the elevator, which Blake guessed controlled the workings of the arena.

"So, let's get started, shall we?"


	7. Chapter 6

Ruby sighed as she absent-mindedly stared at the ceiling. A few minutes after Blake left, Yang decided that it would be a good idea to blow off some steam, saying that 'Jaune inspired her' or something like that. Weiss, on the other hand, wasn't in a good mood. As soon as Yang left, Weiss walked out of the room, saying that she needed some time alone. Looking back, Ruby swore that she saw a few tears on her face, but she paid it no mind, knowing that Weiss wouldn't talk about it for a while.

So, since Ruby was going to be alone for a while, she decided to think. Think about her life. her choices. And that boy.

' _Ekko, I think it was.'_

Ruby didn't know what to think about him. He was a mystery. He didn't look like he went to a combat school, his fighting style wasn't taught in any of the schools she knew of. He also wore a hood. That gave him some mystery points. And he also had… His last name.

She paused for a second. If he had his last name, that must mean that he's related to Him. ' _But he hasn't told me about any siblings…'_ Ruby just chalked it up to her not asking about it. But, since he was here, maybe she could ask him about it…

No. Ruby knew that she couldn't. She knew that she would just be angry at him. Ever since He died, Ruby was very sensitive when something related to Him was brought up. So during the battle, when his name was called out, Ruby was shocked. She didn't know if that his real last name, so she thought it was some sort of prank. So she got mad. Mad at the person who thought it was a good idea to joke about something that important to her.

Which nearly cost them the fight.

Ruby knew that she was good at strategies. Not as good as Jaune, but she was still high up there. That meant that she should be able to keep calm and not get angry in battle. But that wasn't the case back there. Looking back, Ruby knew that half the team attacks that they threw at him were completely useless. She knew that she lost control and just wanted to hurt him.

And that nearly cost them the fight.

Ruby knew that it was irrational to think this way. She knew that she didn't need to do this. But, something inside here told her that she needed to know more about Ekko, even if it brought up bad memories.

-Linebreak-

Rio grunted as he stabbed another training bot in the chest. After Keler's battle, Rio decided that it would be a good idea to practise for his battle. Dodging another slash from one of the bots, he cut that one in half. Stabbing a second one in the chest, he felt his semblance kick in. The roaring of the wind filled his ears, empowering his entire being. Seeing the bots in a line, Rio found an opportunity.

Slashing diagonally, Rio unleashed a tornado, knocking up the bots that were caught up in it. Once all the bots were in the air, Rio drew on his semblance, blinking into existence above them.

"SORE KA TON!" He shouted.

Slashing one, twice, three times in the air, Rio felt the sharp wind slice at the bots, bisecting them instantly. Hitting the ground, Rio let the robot parts rain over him. All in all, it was cool.

"That was pretty neat, Windy." Rio turned around to see what he immediately considered to be one of the most beautiful things he had ever set his eyes on. She was wearing a tan vest over a low-cut crop top, yellow in colour. She was wearing a belt with a pouch and a banner like object. Underneath that, she wore black shorts that was under a white asymmetrical white skirt. Overall, she was stunning to him.

"Me?" Rio dumbly asked, earning him a giggle from the blonde. Rio idly noted that it was music to his ears.

' _Where did that come from?'_

"Yea, do you see anyone else here?" She said, gesturing around. True to her word, Rio couldn't find a person in sight.

"Well, I guess you're right there. May I have the fair maiden's name?" Rio asked, showing an unnatural side of him to a girl that he just met.

She giggled, something that made Rio slightly smile to himself.

"Well, if you must know, it's Yang. Yang Xiao Long." She responded, a faint smile on her lips. "May I ask what this humble gentleman's name be?"

Rio grinned.

"If the fair maiden must know," He disappeared in a rush of wind, silently appearing behind Yang. "It's Rio. Rio Hasaki."

He jumped back and dodged a punch from Yang. Smirking, he waited until Yang regained her composure before talking again.

"I never knew the fair maiden was one for combat." He said, his smirk slowly growing when he saw her grin.

"I never knew the humble gentleman could move that fast." She responded, slowly moving her feet into a fighting stance. Rio allowed himself to grin when he saw that.

"There's a lot of things the fair maiden doesn't know about this humble gentleman." Rio said, pulling his sword out, preparing himself for the sudden battle that was about to occur.

"There's also a lot of things the humble gentleman doesn't know about this fair maiden." She replied, smiling as she brought out her gauntlets.

"Well, maybe we can find out these things?" He asked, but both knew it was more than a simply question.

"Yes. Maybe we can." And with that, the two rushed at each other, wind clashing with fire.

-Linebreak-

Dusk knew that there was no point in training. He just recovered from his earlier battle and knew that he was already prepared for the next few days. But Dusk couldn't help himself. So when Dusk arrived at the arena to see Rio and the blonde he fought fighting, he couldn't help but be half disappointed.

But the other half couldn't help but be amused at the fight. Wanting to see it, Dusk knew that he would've been caught if he stayed where he was. Walking in wasn't an option either, they would see him the moment he walked in. Scouting the area, he realised that he would have to use his semblance to get in. Seeing a corner of the stands shrouded in shadows, Dusk grinned to himself. Reaching out, Dusk felt himself connect with the shadow, and he was about to go to it…

When the connection cut off.

Dusk swore. The shadows were too far away, and there was too much light, courtesy of the blonde. Knowing that he would have to get closer, Dusk sighed as he figured out a way to get in. Dodging a stray dust round, he noticed that there was an area that was hidden by training machines. Concentrating, Dusk summoned a shadow silhouette. Looking around, Dusk saw that the two were in a stalemate. Looking back to his destination, Dusk reached out to it. Soon enough, he switched places with the shadow, another shadow appearing where he originally was. Feeling achieved, he was about to jump to his original destination before pausing. Something didn't feel right.

"Did you hear that?" He heard a girl's voice say. Dusk swore in his head. He knew that he had to get to the area, else he get caught. Dusk looked around and saw a couple of barrels he could hide behind. But they were too far away to shadow instantly to. So Dusk thought of something. If he could pull this off, then he would be considered the Master of Shadows.

' _Self-proclaimed really, but who's there to judge?'_

Taking a breath, he readied himself for his ridiculous plan.

' _3… 2… 1… GO!'_

Rolling out of cover, Dusk prepared himself for what would meet him. Or more, what could've met him. As soon as he rolled out, the machine behind him was reduced to splinters, courtesy of an explosive dust round. Turning around, Dusk saw the blonde staring at him, her eyes a light red. Behind her was an amused Rio, his facial expression telling him all he needed to know.

 _You're alone on this one._

Dusk sighed before dodging another bullet. This time, he was prepared for the follow-ups, jumping left and right to stop himself from being exploded. Deciding to enact his plan, he used the mark. Disappearing with a shadow left in his previous location, he chuckled, knowing that the sound echoed throughout the arena. As soon as he reappeared, he threw a shadow out (yes, threw) and teleported to it, dodging a punch from the angry blonde. Running away, he jumped between bullets and punches. Seeing a huge machine a few metres in front of him, he smirked. Running towards it, Dusk let a round hit him, sending him flying towards the machine. Before he hit the machine, he switched with his shadow from earlier, letting the round impact the machine and creating a massive explosion that sent up a lot of dust. Dusk smiled. Looking at the shadow shrouded corner, he quickly teleported to it, dispelling all the shadows he previously used. Just in time too, as another blonde walked in. This time, it was one of the professors from Beacon.

"Miss Xiao Long, what have you done?" The teacher asked, clearly unimpressed with her fellow blond.

"But Professor, there someone there…" She trailed off when the dust cleared, seeing nothing but the shattered remains of the machine she destroyed.

"I hope you understand the consequences of your actions. One month's worth of detention detention."

"B-But Professor. Rio, help me out here!" She looked at Rio and froze at his amused expression. Sighing in defeat, she slumped her shoulders, following the professor. Turning around, Dusk decided to taunt her a bit. Stepping out of the shadows, he pulled down his hood, making eye contact with her. Seeing her eyes widen, Dusk noticed that he forgot one crucial fact.

' _WE WERE FRIENDS AT ONE STAGE! SHE RECOGNISES MY FACE!'_

Quickly disappearing, Dusk knew that this would make problems. A lot of problems.

' _Some Master of Shadows you are.'_

-Linebreak-

Yang was speechless on her way to Goodwitch's office. After seeing his face, there was no doubt that Yang knew who he was.

' _That was Dusk… But I thought he died… What?'_

Yang didn't know what to do. On one hand, she wanted to beat the crap out of him and make him pay for hurting Ruby. On the other hand, she felt happy. Happy that one of the few people that understood her was alive. But Yang didn't know what to do. Will she beat him to a pulp? Or will she rejoice in his return. For now, she would keep it a secret.

Yang was brought out of her thought by a flying chair, sent by the Professor.

"Miss Xiao Long, I hope you understand how much you have to pay. The amount of machinery that you broke costs…"

Yang didn't pay much attention, thinking about what she should do about the sudden appearance of Dusk. After a long-winded speech and an extra punishment for not paying attention, Yang decided her course of action.

She would confront him, of course. And try her best not to kill him during that.

As soon as Goodwitch let her go, she walked around Beacon, trying to find Rio. She looked everywhere. The library, the courtyard, heck even the male toilets. But she wasn't able to find him. But she found the second-best thing. Or maybe, what she who was looking for.

Dusk was standing in the crowd, staring at the constantly moving crowd, seemingly looking for someone. Yang was staring at him, trying to see the similarities between her old friend and the man that she sees now. Looking at him, Yang noticed a few things. First, his posture was still the same. Back straight, shoulders back with an aura of confidence around him. Second, Yang saw a glint of steel where his left arm is. Then it hit her. The flash of light from when he fought her team, and the glint now wasn't his weapon. It was a metal prosthetic.

Yang reeled back as she recalled the events of 'that' day. She remembered how she walked into a moment Dusk and her sister were having, how she snapped a photo and how everything went down to dust afterwards.

 _-Flashback-_

 _Yang walked through the forest as she looked for her sister and her friend. She knew that they didn't need her, but Yang just felt like going. She might walk into a moment between the two as well. That would be fun._

 _During her search, Yang remembered the first time she met Ruby's friend, Dusk. It was during a school day, where Yang hung out with the not-so-kind people. They were walking around when they saw Ruby, looking at a rose that was growing in the garden. Deciding to mess with her, they walked up to her and destroyed the rose. They sneered at her, throwing insults and degrading her. Yang knew that they frequently bullied her sister. But she couldn't do anything about it, lest she lose her popularity. Ruby looked at Yang with a pleading look, one that asked for a way out of this hell. But Yang turned away. She closed her eyes, tears threating to fall as she continued to hear the insults thrown at her younger sibling._

' _HEY!' was all that Yang heard before a thud hit the ground. Opening her eyes, they widened when she saw a boy, around Ruby's age. He wore a black shirt that had sliver outlining the edges of the shirt. He had a black belt that held a sheath, possibly his weapon. He wore black jeans and had a black trench coat to complete the look._

' _What was that for?' The guy in front of her yelled, his hand trying to cover the intense amount of bleeding that was coming out of his nose._

' _Why were you bullying her?' The boy asked, his black eyes narrowing. As Yang looked into them, she suddenly felt a spike of fear inside her, but it wasn't from his eyes. Looking at the guy in front of her, she saw that his black aura was covering him. She took a step back, feeling sorry for the kid that had to deal with her friend's semblance._

' _I just felt like it kid. Now, if you don't go away, I'll show you why they call me the Master of Shadows.' He said, the black aura suddenly went to the ground, covering himself and the boy in shadows._

 _Yang felt the need to shout when the boy didn't budge. He didn't even look scared. In fact, it looked like he was… smirking? Looking behind him, it almost looked like Ruby was doing the same. As she waited for something to happen, a shadow suddenly appeared behind her friend with him not noticing. She was about to call out to him when she saw Ruby, a finger over her lips. Yang nodded, knowing that this was about to get interesting._

' _Ok then kid, get ready to feel mY WRATH!' Her friend shout as his aura shot out, intending on impaling Ruby's friend. As soon as they reached him, Yang saw a flash of red as his black aura lunged forward, impaling the kid._

' _NO!' Yang shouted, horrified at the prospect of someone potentially dying because of her incompetence. A hand suddenly covered her mouth. Before she could react, a familiar voice made its way into her ear_.

' _Don't worry sis.' She whispered, making Yang's eyes go wide. Wasn't she just behind the bo-_

 _It hit her. The red that she saw was Ruby's semblance. Looking at where she originally was, she saw that the boy wasn't there. She was about to react when the boy suddenly appeared, replacing the shadow. Reaching out, he performed a roundhouse kick, knocking her friend out instantly and making the shadows retract. As soon as they disappeared, she saw it. A shadow silhouette, where he originally was. Yang understood now. He was able to switch places with the shadow figure that was behind her friend, dodging the shadow spikes. Smart._

 _As he took care of the rest of her group, Yang hugged her sister._

' _I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…' Yang constantly said, tears cascading down her face. As Ruby hugged her back, Yang felt a sense of peace. As soon as the moment was finished, Yang turned around to thank the boy that saved her sister. But instead of a person, all she saw was a silhouette, standing in the middle of bodies. Looking at Ruby, she saw her waving at something in the distance. Following her sight, she was able to see a black trench coat before it disappeared, the shadows that were summoned blowing away in the wind._

' _Ruby, who was that?' Yang asked, looking at her sister._

' _Oh, just a friend.' Ruby replied, her face holding a massive smile._

 _Yang smiled to herself. That was a good memory. As she continued to walk into the forest, she stumbled upon a clearing. It was beautiful. It had a ton of colourful flowers littered across it, and it also had a tree. Underneath that tree were her targets, both sleeping. Yang grinned._

 _Sneaking up to them, Yang was only able to take a couple of pictures before she heard a bush rustle. Standing up, Yang thought that it would only be a Grimm, and that she didn't need to wake Dusk up. Unfolding her weapon, she was barely able to bring her gauntlets up before a sword clashed onto them, making her skid back. Looking at her attacker, she saw that he was wearing a hood. His weapon were two blades, each one having an intricate design on them._

 _Yang sent a few punches, shooting out shotgun rounds at him. Looking at the two, Yang idly wondered how they haven't woken up yet. But that momentary lapse of concentration was all the attacker needed. Rushing forward, Yang wasn't able to block the intense amount of punishment that was sent by the attacker. Punches, kicks, stabs and slices. They were only some of the things that Yang received from her opponent. As she fell to the ground, she gritted her teeth when the attacker walked up to her._

' _The Order has come for only one. But now, it seems like two will pay.' The assailant said, raising his blades, ready to end Yang's life. As he brought it down, Yang could only close her eyes and accept her faith. That it, until she heard metal clashing against metal. Opening her eyes, Yang saw Dusk with his sword out, blocking the blade that was about to kill Yang._

' _Yang,' She snapped to attention at the sound of her name, 'Protect Ruby for me. Make sure she isn't affected too much by my death.' Yang's eyes widened. His death. What?_

' _W-What do you me-'_

' _GO!' He interrupted, the urgency in his voice making her move immediately._

' _You said you would leave me alone if my father didn't kill your leader.' Yang heard Dusk say, her eyes widening even more._

' _I do not care about that. Your family is a threat to the Order. Which means we must eliminate you. We have already taken care of the others.' The other guy said, pulling out five raven feathers before throwing them at Dusk. Dusk only stared at the feathers in shock._

' _You…' was all that Dusk said before he lunged at the other guy. As Yang watched on, she barely noticed Ruby wake up, only registering it when she started to get up. She quickly turned her around and hugged her, trying to stop her from seeing the battle._

' _Yang, what happened to you!' She shouted, her voice laced with fear. Yang was about to reassure her before she remembered Dusk's words. She shed a tear._

' _It's not me you should be worried about. It's him.' Yang turned around, letting Ruby see the battle. Yang herself looked away, unable to look at her sister's potential boyfriend battle._

 _After a while, Yang heard Ruby scream. Turning around, Yang could only stare in shock as she saw Dusk getting stabbed. As soon as he dropped, the assailant made their way to them. Yang stood up, ready to defend her sister. She ran at him, ready to do some damage…_

 _Before getting swatted aside, hitting a tree with brutal force. Slowly getting up, Yang screamed as the man was about to kill Ruby, before Dusk suddenly appeared in front of her, killing the man and stopping the blade from killing Ruby. Standing up, Yang slowly made her way towards them. By the time she got there, all she could do was hug Ruby._

 _-Flashback end-_

Yang was shaken out of her thoughts when she saw him start moving. Running towards him, Yang made sure that he could hear her before shouting his name out.

"DUSK!" Yang saw him freeze. Quickly running up to him, she punched him in the face, knocking him out. As he fell, Yang was able to catch a glimpse of his face. The soft, but rugged face that he had. His black hair, messily done upwards. At that moment, Yang knew that this was her friend. So, she decided to take him to a spare classroom. Throwing him down, Yang waited for him to wake up, already creating questions in her mind.


	8. Chapter 7

Dusk groaned as he returned to the realm of consciousness. After escaping Yang, the last thing he remembered was looking for Rio and then…

"YANG!" He shouted, his eyes snapping open. Remembering the events that occurred, he tried to get up, only to be restricted by rope. Looking down, Dusk saw that he was tied to a chair.

' _Okayyyyyy thennnn…'_ Dusk thought. Hearing footsteps he looked forward only to see the source of his imprisonment.

"Dusk." Yang said, her hair covering her face. Dusk, unable to read her expression, was scared, remembering that damage that one angry Yang Xiao Long can inflict on a person.

"Yang." Dusk didn't know what to say, so he stuck to simple, harmless responses.

"What… What happened back then. On that day." Yang said, her voice dropping into a whisper when she said the last three words.

"Yan-"

"JUST TELL ME!" Dusk flinched as a dust round flew past his head, the explosion moving his hair. Looking at Yang, Dusk started thinking of things to say that wouldn't lead to him being castrated.

"Look..." Dusk started, flinching slightly when Yang's blood red eyes met his. ' _They've never reached that colour before…'_

"I… can't tell you what happened."

Yang was silent for a while, her hair covering her eyes once again. Dusk thought he was dead until Yang started to sob.

"D-Do you know," Yang said between sobs, trying to keep her composure, "how m-much pain you c-caused us?"

Dusk was speechless. He knew that she would be hurt, but he expected this from Ruby, not Yang.

"Do you know how much pain Ruby felt!" Yang was shouting now, her emotions clearly showing through her voice. "How much pain I felt!" Yang looked him in the eye, her tear-ridden face cause Dusk to falter.

"I loved you like a brother, Dusk! Ruby loved you even more! So why did you leave us, huh? Why did you leave us to suffer like this?" Yang shouted, more tears falling down her face. Dusk didn't know what to say.

"Why didn't you tell us you were alive! Was it because you were looking for you dead family! Huh? TELL ME!" Dusk froze. Processing the words in his head, he could only look at Yang with barely restrained rage. Finally finding his voice, Dusk responded.

"Don't talk about my family like that…" He whispered, his rage slowing showing. "Just because you can't handle losing me DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU CAN START GETTING ANGRY AT ME FOR SHOWING UP!" He shouted, his voice taking a small demonic edge. Seeing Yang stumble back, he kept talking.

"I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE YOU GUYS. BUT I HAD TO!"

"WHY!" Yang responded, trying to have some leverage.

"BECAUSE YOU WOULD'VE DIED IF I STAYED!" He responded, regretting it when Yang had more tears flow down her face.

"Why… why didn't you tell me…" Yang broke down, going on her knees and sobbing uncontrollable. Dusk knew that he needed to help Yang, or else his friendship with her would be gone.

' _Well, more gone than it already is…'_

Using his wrist, he managed to flick out one of his blades. Grabbing it, he made quick work of the ropes. As soon as he freed himself, he ran to Yang, wrapping her in a tight embrace. Dusk smiled when she responded, grabbing his shirt and crying into his shoulder. He whispered sweet nothings into her ears as he stroked her hair. Soon enough, Yang was crying even harder. Dusk sweat dropped, but quickly recovered and pulled Yang into a tighter hug. Laying his chin on her head, Dusk saw a pair of amber eyes go wide. As he looked at them, he was able to figure out that the orbs belonged to Blake. Looking at them, he made a motion that told her to leave, and that he'll talk to her later. As soon as he saw the amber go away, he returned his focus to Yang, who has already stopped crying, but was still shaking.

"Yang… I'm sorry." Dusk started but was quickly interrupted by Yang.

"No. I-I should be sorry…" She said, looking up at Dusk. He noticed that her eyes switched back to their lilac colour.

"I shouldn't have kidnapped you and talked about your family like that." Looking down, Dusk saw that the waterworks were starting again. He sighed internally.

"Nonononono." He stammered, making Yang look up at him with a hopeful look in her eyes. "I… I shouldn't have left like that. I should've told you guys the moment I was r-" Dusk was cut off by a sharp pain in his mind. He shouted, the pain slowing growing.

"Dusk!" He barely heard, all his senses numbed because of the pain. As he withered in pain on the ground, he started to hear snippets of conversation.

" _Helix. Dusk Helix."_

" _He should be a fine addition."_

" _FOR THE ORDER!"_

" _But I already killed him."_

" _\- Doesn't matter. We can revive him. Make him reborn."_

" _Test Subject 001. Ready for revival."_

" _T-The experiment worked. YES!"_

" _You are now the holder of the Dusk Crystal. Keep it, lest it disappears."_

" _Blond hair. Blue eyes. Kill him."_

Dusk shot up, making Yang move out of the way. Breathing heavily, he was glad that the pain in his head was gone. Looking around, he saw that Yang was calling Ruby on her scroll.

"Yang! Don't tell Ruby!" He shouted, but it was too late as the call was picked up.

'Yang? What's up?' Dusk froze when he heard that voice. Even though he heard it in the battle, he was still shocked when he heard her, tons of memories flowing into his mind.

'I uhh…' Dusk heard Yang say. Looking at her, he saw that her attention was on him, her facial expression asking him a question.

 _Do I tell her?_

Dusk quickly shook his head, not speaking in case Ruby recognises him. He sighed in relief when he saw Yang nod.

'What, I'm not allowed to talk to my little sis?' As the two siblings talked over the scroll, Dusk allowed himself to smile when he noticed that the two haven't changed. Standing up, Dusk left a message on the ground, etched by by his knife. As he left the room, he looked back at Yang one last time, smiling at her laugh. Putting his hood on, he left the room, planning to aimlessly wander the halls of Beacon. And meet up with Blake.

-Linebreak-

Jaune grunted as he blocked another strike from Ozpin. After an hour of training, Ozpin gave them a chance to leave. Blake took it, tired from the excessive beatings that she took from Ozpin. Turns out a coffee mug is a formidable weapon in the hands of the right person. Jaune decided to stay, wanting to increase his durability in battle. His first task, land a hit on Ozpin without getting hit first. And that proved to be difficult against a coffee mug.

Going of a stab, Jaune stumbled forward when Ozpin caught his sword with the handle. Pushing slightly, Ozpin was able to make Jaune fall over. Inspecting his mug, Ozpin saw no marks or cracks on it. Good.

"For someone who's hunting down the Order," Ozpin said, dodging another shield bash before jumping over a horizontal slash. "You're not that good at fighting."

Jaune grunted as he was kicked by Ozpin, sending him flying towards the wall. He groaned, getting up again. "It's not like I'm trying or anything." He grumbled under his breath, although not quiet enough for Ozpin not to hear.

"Oh. I would really _love_ to see you try, Mr Arc." Jaune paled, knowing that this wouldn't end well. "I know." Ozpin said, his voice laced with unusual glee. "I'll post the photo from the elevator on the Vale Net." Jaune paled even more. He knew that if he let that happen, Blake would kill him. And possibly Ozpin. Nah, just him.

"Fine then Headmaster. I'll try." Ozpin looked at Jaune with a predatory gaze. At that moment, Jaune knew he messed up. As Ozpin practically teleported next to him, Jaune used a technique he hasn't used for a while.

"ALPHA STRIKE!"

As Ozpin swiped at Jaune with his cane, he disappeared in a flash of light. All Ozpin was able to see was a white ball of aura before he was sent to the ground. Looking up, Ozpin saw Jaune, looking like he had just done a two-handed slash.

"Very impressive, Mr Arc. Although," Ozpin leapt up, going for an overhead strike. "It isn't enough." Smashing the cane into the ground, Jaune jumped back and dodged the shockwave it created.

"Holy…" Jaune whispered, unable to believe the amount of power that was displayed in front of him. Stepping to the side, Jaune went it for a stab, only for the Headmaster to dodge the strike and stab him.

"RRRRRRRRRIPOSTE!" He shouted. Jaune sweat dropped as he as launched back. Before he hit the wall, he called out another Alpha Strike. Ozpin, hearing the declaration, got into a defensive stance. Seeing that ball of aura, he jumped back, expecting the attack to be dodged. Ozpin's eyes widen when he saw the aura ball follow him. Landing, the Headmaster had no time to react before he was hit by a sword, the impact sending him to a wall. Ozpin groaned, starting to regret his choice of challenging the Arc. Standing up, he heard Jaune shout out another move, although Ozpin didn't recognise this one.

"SEVEN DEADLY STEPS!" Ozpin wasn't prepared for a white blur to shoot past him, a cut being created when he presumably hit him. This was repeated seven times, with Ozpin not able to defend himself. On the last step, Jaune appeared, spinning as he gathered momentum, preparing to hit Ozpin. Seeing this, he jumped out of the way, just before Jaune hit the ground, the sword hitting the concrete floor with a loud bang. A shockwave, easily double the intensity of Ozpin's, shot out, knocking the Headmaster off his feet. Quickly recovering, he straightened himself, dusting off his coat. Looking at the aura metres, he swore when he saw his aura level. He was on 30%, while Jaune was on 60%. Ozpin knew that it wouldn't take long for Jaune to get him to 10%. Seeing movement in the corner of his eye, he looked up from his scroll to see Jaune slowly get back up.

"Ready to delete that photo, Headmaster?" Jaune asked, his voice filled with confidence.

"Sure. Let's dance." Ozpin replied, ready for the next attack that Jaune would throw out.

"DEADLY LOTUS!" Jaune shouted. As soon as he finished those words, aura daggers suddenly appeared around him, filling the area with white light. Jaune suddenly appeared behind Ozpin. Sensing the presence, Ozpin was too late to react as the blades shot out, each out hitting him with deadly accuracy. Knowing that he couldn't defend himself, he was about to give up when something hit him. Both figuratively and literally. Ozpin noticed that Jaune had to stay still while casting this technique. He recognised this as a 'channel'. And Ozpin had a counter for channels.

Flicking the top of his cane, he pulled out a device, admiring it for a bit before he got hit in the face. Shaking his head, he threw the device above Jaune's head. Using his aura, Ozpin reached out to it as soon as it got into position.

"CHAOS STORM!" He shouted. As soon as he said that, the device opened, arcs of electricity shooting out of it. As soon as they hit the ground, the blades stopped coming. Ozpin saw Jaune kneel, taking shot after shot of electricity. Looking at aura levels, he saw that he was on 11%, while Jaune just reached the 5% mark. Looking at his student, he saw that he was knocked out, the used device next to him. Getting up, Ozpin put the device into his cane before opening the Vale Net on his scroll.

' _Oh this is going to be SOOOOO MUCHH FUNNNN.'_ If one were to look into Ozpin's eyes, they would see the predatory glint and unrestrained glee that covered his face.

-Linebreak-

Blake shuddered as she looked for Ekko. Or Dusk, she didn't know anymore. She was confused. After the training session with Ozpin, she decided to go into a classroom and read, seeing as there would be no peace in the dorms. Everything _was_ fine, until Yang walked in with someone over her shoulder. Yang then threw him to the ground, looking at him with a conflicted face. Blake thought of stopping her, but decided against it, thinking that she needed to sort out this problem herself.

So, when Blake saw Yang get a chair and tie him down, she sweat dropped and closed her book, wanting to see how this played out. Watching closely, she nearly gasped when Yang pulled her victim's hood down, revealing Dusk, as Yang called him. Even though there was one person in the school with a hood that they used, Blake couldn't help but be surprised.

After waiting for a while, Blake noticed Dusk wake up and Yang stand up from her sitting position. Walking towards him, she was able to see the sadness in Yang's eyes, only because of her Faunus heritage. As she listened to their conversation, her eyes widened at the implication of Ruby liking him more than a friend. Blake didn't know what happened in their past, but if Yang acted this way, it probably meant that the event that happened then must've been horrible. Her eyes softened when she saw Yang collapse to the ground, her grief-stricken cries reaching her ears. Blake was about to go and comfort her before she saw Dusk leapt from the chair and hug Yang. Blake smiled, know that her partner was in good hands. Her eyes widened when she made eye contact with him, knowing that he couldn't have seen her from her place, unless he was a Faunus himself. His expression told her to leave and that he'll tell her later. So she left, walking around the interior of Beacon while waiting for him.

Blake attention was soon drawn to her scroll as it ringed. Pulling it out, Blake saw that it was from Ruby, saying that there was a photo she needed to see with a ';)' in the end. Opening the message, it had a link that lead her to a photo. Tapping it, she waited for the photo to load. Looking at the uploader, the username was _'B3AC0Nh34dm4st3r'_. Quickly translating the username, she paled, remembering the event that occurred in the elevator. When the photo loaded, Blake didn't even have to look at it to know what it was.

It was her and Jaune, looking at each other with a blush on their faces. Their faces were also pretty close, although Blake could blame that on Ozpin's scanning device. No one would believe her though. Looking at the caption, it read ' _Two love birds finding their feelings for each other.'_ Blake could almost see the psychotic smile that was on their beloved Headmaster's face. Blake idly wondered what Jaune did to make Ozpin post the photo. Although, now that she thought about it, she wouldn't mind being in a relationship with Jaune…

' _What? Where did that come from… Although he is cute…. And he cares for the Faunus… NO BLAKE! BAD KITTY!'_

Blake would've continued with that line of thought if she didn't bump into someone. Specifically, her target.

"Oh, hey Blake." Dusk greeted, his hood off because of the impact. Blake, wondering why he wasn't affected by this, looked around only to see no one in the area.

"Hi…" Blake said, the topic she wanted to discuss fresh in her mind.

"So," He started after a pause, looking at her with an unsure look. "How… how much did you hear back there?"

"Everything." Blake was taken aback when she saw Dusk's eyes widen.

"Oh crap…" Dusk muttered, Blake knowing that he was thinking of what to say.

"Well, you would want an explanation, yes?" He asked her, the uncertainty in his face nearly making Blake consider that she didn't need to know.

"Yes. That would be appreciated."

"Ok… So here's what happened…"


End file.
